Loyal After All
by Sakura 8D
Summary: The attack was going well. Orochimaru's hideout was falling down. Sakura and Naruto have to make a choice; trust him or not? Itachi needs to be taken down at some point, right? His last chance... and he was asking for help too? WHAT? SasuSaku
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer**__**: I do not own Naruto…**_

.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Orochimaru's Hideout

.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Sasuke walked tiredly down the dark hallway.

He had just finished an obnoxiously long training session with Orochimaru, the snake god of an idiot.

And, like always, Sasuke refused the treatment that Kabuto was attempting to give him.

Uh-oh, another dizzy spell…

Sasuke leaned against the wall for a moment, trying to rub his eyes and clear his vision, at least until he made it to his room.

Sleepily, he pulled his door open and barely got it closed behind him.

The boy simply dropped his sword on the floor and rolled onto his bed.

He pulled his shirt open a bit, though he lacked the motivation and energy to do any more.

Carefully, he put his sore hand on the deep gash in his side.

'_Would've been smart to get some treatment for this one…'_ he thought vaguely to himself.

Sasuke pulled his hand off of it and rested it on the bed.

'_He'll come… eventually… to check up on me anyway… That idiot will take care of it…'_

Slowly, but surely, he fell into a restless, but deep sleep.

.;.;.;.;.;.;.

A Little Later…

.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Quiet footsteps were heard entering the room, waking Sasuke into a dozed off position.

"Kabuto… about time you got here…" Sasuke mumbled to him, shifting a bit on the bed, "The wound on my side is pretty bad…"

But Kabuto didn't say anything.

Instead, he calmly walked to Sasuke's side and touched his wound.

The Uchiha tensed at the unexpected pain, but let the medic work on him.

However… instead of a hard hand roughly bandaging him up…

It was a soft hand that carefully inspected the wound before healing it quietly and covering up what was left.

"K… Kabuto…?" Sasuke muttered again, this time actually trying to open his eyes.

But again, there was no response.

After a few moments, he felt a piece of cloth covering his mouth and nose.

"Damn it, Kabuto, what are you doing?" he tried to say through the cloth.

His vision started to blur again, though he didn't know if it was from the wound or the strange medicine he was breathing.

But just before his body gave in to the darkness, the boy managed to open his eyes.

The room was too dark to distinguish any figures… but the shiny forehead protector was plenty enough.

"Ninja…?" he mumbled, just as he closed his eyes and blacked out.

.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Kabuto casually walked down the hall, heading for Sasuke's room.

He yawned, all bored from the work he had to do today.

But he was used to making this trip; that Uchiha was stubborn when it came to letting someone take care of him.

All of a sudden, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the alarm.

Rushing to the nearest guard, the medic exclaimed, "What's going on?"

The guard immediately stood up straight and reported the situation.

"Sir, it seems that there are Konoha ninja attacking the base. The number of attackers are unknown, but it seems there are only a few. What is your command, sir?"

Kabuto stood for a moment, trying to think of something to do.

"Already. You need to report this to Orochimaru. Dismissed."

The guard ran in the opposite direction, passing other alert guards on the way.

Kabuto dashed to Sasuke's room.

He pounded on the door, exclaiming, "Sasuke! We're under attack! I'm coming in!"

He swung the door open and rushed to Sasuke's side.

"Sasuke! Up, up, come on!" he yelled again.

But when he noticed the bandaged wounds and the cloth over his mouth and nose, he stopped.

Suddenly, the door slammed shut, and before Kabuto could react, he was hit on the neck with Sasuke's katana, knocking him out.

.;.;.;.;.;.;.

A shadow jumped from tree to tree.

It stopped right in front of a window, pausing for a moment before knocking twice, waiting, and knocking three times again.

Quietly, the window opened and the shadow went inside.

The two ninja whispered to each other.

"Over here. He's too heavy for me to carry…" the first ninja explained as they walked to the bed.

The second ninja tried to pull the Uchiha off the bed.

"Baka! Be careful! He has a wound on his side!" the first ninja exclaimed again, smacking the other's head.

"Sorry, sorry…"

They passed by a tied up Kabuto, who was still out from the hit.

"Ok… careful… careful…"

Slowly, they climbed out of the window, and left the hideout.

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

"Report the situation," the head ANBU ninja exclaimed to the group of ninja before him.

"The base is completely surrounded. Sakura and Naruto have just arrived with the prisoner. Squad 5 has infiltrated the base, but it doesn't seem like they have knowledge of the rest of us…" one ninja explained.

"Good, good. Dismissed. Report back to your locations."

He brushed his hand against his forehead and turned his attention to the news of the prisoner.

"Where is the prisoner?" the leader exclaimed, walking towards a group of ninja on break.

"Over there, sir," one of them sleepily stated, pointing to the opposite side of the camp site.

Under a tall oak tree, Sakura and Naruto tiredly sat down next to Sasuke's still unconscious body.

Sakura was trying her best to look over his injures, but they were way too tired for they're own good.

The leader silently approached the two ninja.

"You two should get some rest. It's getting dark, and it seems that the attack is going well. We need as many awake ninja as we can get." He exclaimed, putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"We'll just keep guard of the prisoner, ok? We'll be fine…" Naruto responded quietly, rubbing his eyes.

The ANBU sighed.

"Alright. Make sure you both get enough sleep for tomorrow though. We either fight, or head home."

He walked away from them, looking back a few times to make sure they were ok.

"Hey Sakuraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" Naruto whined, poking at her shoulder.

"Naruto… I'm busy…" she responded, nudging him away.

"Ok, ok, well, I'm gonna get something to eat, 'k? You want something?" he asked, standing up and starting to walk away.

"I'll get some in a bit…"

She waved him away.

Sakura folded her arms and sighed.

Pushing away his bangs, she felt his forehead.

The fever hadn't gone down yet…

Her cool hand seemed to bring him out of his slumber.

Sasuke's eyes slowly opened but seemed to be glazed over.

His vision was pretty blurry, and he felt very dizzy.

"Hey… are you ok?" Sakura asked quietly, putting each of her hands on a side of his face.

He looked her straight in her eyes, but he didn't recognize her.

He responded, "Who… are you…? Where am I…?"

Sakura smiled a bit to herself.

The medicine was affecting him a lot.

Subconsciously, he touched his side and grimaced at the pain.

"Ow…" he mumbled, moving his hand back to the ground.

"Ok now… you need to sleep, ok? Sleep…" Sakura stated, putting her hand over his eyes.

He sleepily pushed it away and tried to sit up.

However, his wounds were too much for him and he almost fell over.

Sakura caught him and frowned.

"Sleep…"

She pushed him back to the ground.

Slowly, his eyes closed.

"Sleep…"

Before long, he was fast asleep, though Sakura knew; it wasn't as peaceful as his appearance made it seem…


	2. Chapter 2

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Morning…

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

The sun slowly came up.

Good old Team 7 was still asleep, though the rest of the ANBU were already awake.

The leader spoke with his teammate.

"They're worn out. I think it's best if they stay with the prisoner instead of fight…" the leader began, rubbing his chin subconsciously.

"Yeah, they should head to a safer location though. I heard there was a cave near the river to the west. Do you think that's good?" the teammate responded, pointing away from the sun for emphasis.

"Hm, that's probably the farthest we'll be able to take him, with those injuries and all… Alright. It's settled. I'll go wake them up, get them some supplies, and send them on their way."

The leader left the other man behind and approached the three.

The ninja were nice enough to cover the prisoner with a blanket; Sakura and Naruto were asleep next to each other, sharing a blanket.

"Hey, wake up…" the ANBU said, patting Sakura's head and nudging Naruto's foot.

The two slowly woke up, neither having the motivation to get up just yet.

"Ok, we have a plan for you guys. You remember the river we stopped at? The one to the west?"

They nodded sleepily.

"Well, there's a cave near there. We want you to take the prisoner and hide out there. The attack is going well, and all we need to do is get the prisoner to a safe location."

They nodded again.

"We'll be there in two days. If we're not there by then, you should leave and head to the nearest town. Call up the Hokage and get some back-up. Got it?"

Nod, nod.

"Get some food into your stomachs and we'll get some supplies for you. Now come on. Up, up, up!"

The leader grinned and pulled up Sakura, then Naruto.

"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto muttered, heading to his bags to grab some chow.

Sakura moved closer to Sasuke to check up on his injuries.

Carefully, she touched his wounded side, causing him to grimace in his sleep.

She sighed and felt his forehead.

"How is he?" the leader asked, crouching down next to her.

"Well, his side is pretty bad, but I'm mostly worried about his fever. It hasn't gone down since yesterday…" she explained as she covered him again with the blanket.

"I see. Is he at least well enough to get to the cave?" he asked as he stood up again.

Sakura said nothing, only nodded.

"Alright. I'll get some supplies for you."

He turned and left.

.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Two hours later…

.;.;.;.;.;.;.

The cave was rather small, but sited in a good location.

Naruto dumped an armful of wood onto the cave floor as Sakura pulled the blanket off of Sasuke.

Naruto looked over her shoulder curiously.

"What 'cha doing?" he asked with a puppy face on.

"Seeing if I can heal his wound a bit. Hopefully it'll bring his temperature down too…" she muttered in response.

Naruto shrugged and turned his attention to the fire he was attempting to make.

Carefully, the medic placed her hand on Sasuke's wound.

He gasped and opened his eyes.

Sakura tried her best to ignore him and concentrated on healing him.

Naruto glanced at the two, announcing, "I'm getting some water…" as he left the unlit fire behind and exited the cave.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was whining in pain, trying to push Sakura's hand away.

"You do that, and you'll make it worse," she responded plainly, pulling his hand down.

Once she used a good amount of chakra on him, she moved her hand away and covered him again with the blanket.

Slowly, he opened his eyes again.

"Sakura? You're the one…who…?" he muttered.

The drugs were still affecting him and plus, the whole situation itself was awkward.

"Konoha is currently attacking Orochimaru's base. We got you out before you could get involved in the battle," Sakura vaguely explained, getting up to light the fire.

"Oh…"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds were Sakura lighting a match and Sasuke breathing heavily.

He could feel sharp stabs at the backs of his eyes and the throbbing in his head made him want to just die right there.

"… we're not letting you get away… so don't get any ideas…" she stated when he sat up.

Ignoring her, he pulled his shirt open a bit and fingered the bandages around his side.

After a few minutes, he responded, "What makes you think I want to run away…?"

She glanced at him, holding her breath.

"I'm not that stupid…" he added at the end, but his expression was sad.

Naruto entered the cave again, with three water bottles in his hands.

He handed one to Sakura and one to Sasuke, taking a drink out of his own.

Sakura set hers aside and began digging through her medical bag.

She pulled out some sleeping pills and dropped the container in Sasuke's lap.

"Take two pills and it should help you get some sleep," she said as she walked outside.

Sasuke turned his view to Naruto, who was looking down sadly at the cave floor.

He too looked down, feeling bad about the hardness he's always had towards the team's relationship.

Quietly, he asked, "…How's she been…? Is she… still upset…?"

"She's… yeah, she's still upset… though that's not the greatest word to use… What about you…? Been training a lot?" was the response.

"Damn it…" he responded, and after a little while, he added, "Yeah, I've been training a lot. I got this wound from yesterday…"

He sighed at the end.

"I see… what about Itachi…?"

"Nothing yet…" he paused, greatly considering what he was about to say, "Naruto… You've gotten stronger, right?"

Said boy nodded.

"And… and Sakura's strong too, right?"

The boy nodded again strongly, adding, "You bet!"

"Look… I really want to go back to Konoha. Really, you have no idea. But… Itachi is still out there… I don't want to leave you guys again… So-"

"She's not going to let you go. No matter what you say…" Naruto interrupted, standing up straight, "We can't trust you, especially Sakura. But… I'll go talk to her. In the meantime, you should take those pills. There's some food in my bag, if you're hungry…"

Naruto sighed as he too headed out of the cave, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to think of what to say to his teammate.

Sasuke looked down at the container of pills in his hand.

Taking two out, he swallowed them and some water.

Carefully, he pulled Naruto's bag towards him and began looking through it for some food.

He pulled out a bento box and quickly opened it.

It's been almost 24 hours since he ate a good meal.

Scratch that, it's been three years since he ate a good meal…

Outside, Naruto quietly approached Sakura, who was sitting down next to the river.

"Hey…" he greeted, sitting down next to her.

"Hey…" she responded sadly.

"Don't worry about it… ok? I was talking to him… and… he wants to kill Itachi before-"

"He's going back to Konoha," she answered bluntly, not looking up at him.

"But Sakura-"

"He's going back to Konoha."

She wasn't going to budge.

"Alright… well… think about it, ok? Because… you don't want him to leave again, right? If we get him out of the way, he won't have a reason to leave ever again…"

Naruto stood up and went to the cave again, leaving a silent Sakura behind.

Sasuke had just finished up his food when Naruto walked in.

"What did she…?" he started to ask, though the expression Naruto had on made him fall still.

"You're not so lucky this time, buddy… I don't know, maybe you can talk to her tomorrow. For now, I'm hungry, so hand over some food, bastard," he answered, putting a grin on his face as he dug through his bag.

He pulled out another bento box, and his smile widened.

Sasuke couldn't help but relive a few of his happy memories from Konoha; the good old days.

"I promise," he whispered.

Naruto looked at him for a moment, confused.

But Sasuke was sure he knew what he was talking about.

He looked out the cave entrance and waited for Sakura to return.


	3. Chapter 3

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

The Next Morning

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes.

Another restless night…

He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand and carefully sat up.

Sakura lied to his left and Naruto was asleep at his right; they decided it was easier to tell if the prisoner was trying to escape if he was surrounded.

However, this matter wasn't one of escape…

He just needed to use the restroom.

The Uchiha pushed the blankets they shared aside as quietly as possible.

He attempted to stand up, but he was still a little dizzy, even though his fever was all gone by the time he went to sleep last night.

A strong hand latched on to the back of his shirt and a kunai was against his throat, a drop of blood running down to his chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" an annoyed voice asked.

Sakura…

He sighed and answered truthfully, "I have to go to the bathroom…"

She paused for a moment before letting go of his top, nudging Naruto awake with her foot.

Sasuke was forced to lean against the cave wall for support.

"Ow…" the boy mumbled, turning away from the two.

"Naruto, get up, Sasuke has to go use the restroom…"

"So…? What's that gotta do with me?" he complained back, adding a groan when the kunoichi kicked him in the stomach.

"GET. UP."

"Fine…"

Naruto lazily stood up and muttered, "Come on…" as he walked out.

The traitor reluctantly followed.

Once they were a few feet into the forest, the Uzumaki leaned against a tree.

"Go for it, bastard," was all he said.

He yawned.

Sasuke said nothing, but walked to the bushes.

"So… bastard… what 'cha gonna say to Sakura?" he asked after a few minutes.

"I don't know yet. I thought about it, but nothing's gonna work…"

There was a silence.

"I tried to talk to her, I really did…" Naruto added in a small voice.

"I know, I know, it has nothing to do with you. It's all my fault…" Sasuke quickly responded, coming out of the bushes.

Suddenly, he doubled over, only to be caught by Naruto before he completely fell.

"Oh God, oh God…" he kept repeating, over and over again.

"I got 'cha, I got 'cha…"

Carefully, Naruto managed to get his former teammate into his arms and carried him back to the cave.

"Sakura! Sakura!" he yelled as he climbed into the cave.

Apparently, she had lied back down, though she was up in an instant when she heard Naruto's voice.

"What's going on?!" she exclaimed back.

The boy laid a grimacing Uchiha on the covers.

"Sasuke, what's going on, what do you feel?" Sakura asked him, looking up at Naruto to see if he has an answer.

Naruto just shook his head and crouched down next to the two.

Sasuke tried to open his mouth, but when he did, all he could do is let out a pained scream.

"Sasuke! Calm down! What do you feel, you have to tell me!" Sakura yelled at him.

But all the Uchiha could manage to do is point at his side before gripping it again.

The medic used her strength to pull his hands away, and nodded towards Naruto to hold them back.

She examined the boy's side.

"Agh, all that work… He opened up the wound again…" she explained to the worried Naruto next to her.

The girl paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to do with him.

Carefully, Sakura pulled him into a sitting position, causing another stab of pain for Sasuke.

"Naruto, hold him up…" she instructed, and was immediately followed.

With a swift movement, she pulled out a kunai and hit her ex-friend hard with the handle behind his head.

Instantly, he was out like a light.

Naruto cautiously lied him down on the blankets.

"Dang, didn't see that one coming…" he mumbled under his breath, but Sakura was quick to put him to work.

"Ok, start up a fire, and get a bucket of water. It's going to be a long night…"

Naruto frowned, but completed her demands.

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

In the Middle of the Night

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Sasuke sleepily opened his eyes, though a piercing headache made them shut.

He groaned.

Turning his head to the side, he saw that Naruto wasn't there, though to his left, Sakura was dozing in her spot.

"S… Saku…" he tried to say, but he just sighed and closed his eyes once more.

He felt her gaze turn upon him.

"Awake…?" she asked in a quiet voice, knowing he was in pain.

"Y… yeah…" was his small response.

"Do you want some medicine…?"

"Uh… uh… yeah…" he stuttered, and then swallowed hard, "Y-yes, p-please…"

She nodded and started digging through her bag again.

Sasuke lied silently, breathing heavily and blinking his eyes to make them as less blurry as possible.

He felt her touch the wound, making him cringe.

She was trying to heal it a bit, just enough so that when he sat up, it wouldn't hurt as much.

After a few moments, she sighed and put her hand under him.

"Sit up," she commanded.

He did as she said, and she helped him stay balanced.

However, after he took the medicine, the medic didn't move from next to him.

Sasuke didn't look at her; he kept his gaze to the floor.

"You should get some sleep…" she added quietly as she stood.

Sakura walked to the fire and put in another two blocks of wood.

"Y… yeah…"

There was an awkward moment of silence between them.

After looking around for a moment, he asked, "Where's Naruto?"

Sakura turned and stared at him before answering, "He's gone out to scout a bit, to see if there's anybody around, either from Orochimaru's or Konoha."

"Oh…"

Another silence filled the cave.

"Sakura…"

"What." she asked, her voice full of anger.

"I'm…"

Pause.

"You're… what? What do you want now?"

A strange pain hit Sasuke.

It wasn't the same kind as the stinging from his side.

This was different.

But it hurt just as much.

"…sorry…"

At this, Sakura turned and gazed at the boy.

She didn't stop staring, as she asked, "What was that?"

Sasuke didn't look up, but carefully lied down on the blankets, covering himself up and closing his eyes.

"Good night…" was all he responded, and he was soon asleep.

Just as he hoped, his statement threw her mind into chaos.

Maybe his luck will turn…?

The medic continued staring, letting the minutes pass… and something she had trashed long ago seemed to want to come back.

Mercy… why did she pity him so much??

She didn't want to pity him!!

She didn't want to care!!

He let them go three years ago; why can't she let go of him?

Of course, this was different, wasn't it?

Sasuke…

Was asking…

For help.


	4. Chapter 4

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

The Next Day

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Sasuke tiredly opened his eyes.

Just like the previous day, Naruto and Sakura were asleep on either side of him.

He smiled sleepily to himself; it was nice having his friends around him, just like the older days during missions.

Carefully, he stood up, and, unlike the other day, Sakura didn't jump up to kill him.

Peaking out of the cave entrance, the Uchiha admired the fog for a moment before turning on Sharingan.

He scanned the area quickly, looking for any signs of Konoha ninja.

'_Shit…'_ he thought to himself.

There was a small group of them camping out about a mile away… not good…

Sasuke looked back at his former teammates, sleeping peacefully on the blankets.

He could easily escape now.

But…

He turned back quickly, walking to the backpacks to start putting stuff away.

"Nya…? Sasuke…" he heard someone mumbled from behind him.

He looked around to find Naruto sitting up, half asleep and rubbing his eyes.

"Naruto, we have to go. I need to get out of here; the ANBU are going to be here soon," he explained rapidly, finishing one pack and moving to the other.

"But…?"

"What are you talking about??" Sakura exclaimed, shooting up immediately.

"I have to go!! I've got to go kill Itachi!! So come on, are we going or what??" Sasuke asked irritated, picking up one of the bags.

Sakura stared at him for a moment, not sure what to think.

So he was asking them for help…?

Minutes passed, and they remained generally motionless.

"What're you waiting for, Naruto? Get up!" Sakura exclaimed, starting to fold up the blankets.

"O… k…" he muttered, getting up and helping them.

The medic took out a paper and started writing something down, but he didn't take the time to think about it.

Within a few moments, they were ready to go.

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

An Hour Later

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

The group of ANBU ninja searched the cave.

One of them approached the leader, saluting.

"Sir, we've only found a pile of burnt up wood and this folded up paper. We haven't opened it yet; thought it would be more appropriate for you to do so…" he explained, handing the man the letter.

He opened it, and read out loud.

"Dear Leader, the Uchiha, Naruto, and I have decided it was best to go on a little mission before returning to Konoha. Don't worry, we'll be ok; an agreement has been made with Sasuke, and he will return to Konoha as soon as Itachi is killed. We have agreed on one month. Please don't come looking for us until then. Deal with Orochimaru, and we'll deal with the Akatsuki. Thanks, Sakura. P.S.: come up with something for the Hokage."

The leader paused before slowly hitting his forehead.

"Those idiots…" he said, sighing at the end, "I guess there's nothing we can do about it now…"

The other ninja just shrugged, unaffected by the letter.

"So… what 'cha gonna say to the Hokage?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Dunno. I'll come up with something. In the meantime, let's get going."

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

An Hour Later in a Nearby Town

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Sasuke felt something soft underneath of him.

Slowly, he opened his eyes to find Sakura sitting next to him on a bed, watching T.V.

He looked around, and identified his surroundings to be a hotel room, and Naruto had just exited the restroom.

"Hmm…" Sasuke mumbled quietly, attracting the attention of both shinobi.

"Hey, you awake?" Naruto asked quietly, walking over to the bed and standing next to the medic.

Sasuke slowly nodded.

"Good, then I can head out to get some new clothes…?" Sakura asked them, quickly standing up.

The Uchiha watched Naruto nod, and after a few minutes, the girl was gone.

"Where's she going…?" Sasuke asked, his voice muffled by the pillow.

His former teammate sat down in Sakura's place, and stated, "Gonna get us some new clothes. Yours are all cut up, and well, we've got to blend in a little more…"

"Hm…"

They sat without talking; the only sound in the room was the T.V.

Naruto laughed once in a while, but slowly, the Uchiha fell asleep again.

It's not his fault his bed at Orochimaru's wasn't as amazingly soft as this one…

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

In the Evening

.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.

Sasuke was shaken awake by a hand; he immediately hid his face in the pillow, saying, "Oi…"

"Get up, you've gotta try on your new clothes!!" he heard someone exclaim in an overjoyed voice.

"Later…" he mumbled again, trying to turn away.

"Psh, Naruto, just leave him alone. He can try them on later," another voice responded as well, causing the blond to quiet for a moment before continuing.

"But but but! They look so cool!!"

Sasuke sighed, having energy for neither responding nor getting up.

Finally, after about ten minutes, he looked up to find Naruto in… some very strange clothing!

"Baka…" he mumbled slowly, sitting up as he did, "What happen to you?"

"Whaaaaaat? I really like them!" the boy responded as he danced around the room in his new clothes.

Naruto was wearing red shorts that went up to his knees, with black legwarmers continuing down from there.

He had on a white shirt and over it a jacket that was an even darker shade of red.

It buckled at the collar and a white stripe went down his arm.

And… it looked kinda good.

"Come on now, it's your turn," Sakura said mockingly, sitting down next to him on the bed.

"Nya… Too lazy…"

She sighed.

"Well, I'll be trying on my clothes, so when I'm done, I'll be expecting you to be up and ready, got that?"

He just waved her away and fell asleep again.

After what seemed like just a few minutes, Sasuke felt someone tapping his head, surprising him awake.

He looked up to find Sakura in her… aha, _very nice clothes…_

Behind her, Naruto was staring at her for a bit too long for comfort.

She had on a short red skirt with black legwarmers from her knees down.

Her no-sleeve shirt revealed her entire stomach and the collar was popped up to hug her neck; she wore warmers on her arms from her elbows to her hands.

After a few moments of silence and the two boys staring, she couldn't help but cross her arms and exclaim, "Oooook, you guys are creeping me out here!"

Both of them immediately snapped out of it and said together, "They look good."

"…Ok then… Sasuke, your turn…" she mumbled as she headed for the closet.

Sakura pulled out plain black pants and a matching shirt, with a white overcoat to go along.

"This should make you moderately happy, huh?"

The Uchiha sighed and, though he was still sore, stood up.

However, when he started walking towards her, he realized how much better he felt.

'_Wow… she really helped out…'_ he thought vaguely as he took the clothes from her.

Sasuke passed her to enter the bathroom, but paused.

He started at her back as she exited the room to the balcony.

A small blush appeared, but Naruto was definitely not paying attention, still preoccupied with his new outfit.

'_How… strange… She's changed more than I first thought, huh…'_

Who knows what will come next.


End file.
